100 Theme Challenge
by Daughter-of-Light13
Summary: A Kingdom Hearts take on WaterAngel-Alyssa's 100 Theme Challenge! Any and all KH characters here. Traditional pairings will be the norm, but feel free to make requests! Themes will be chosen randomly. In general light and fluffy, but not always.
1. Almost

**A/N Welcome to my response to WaterAngel-Alyssa's 100 Theme Challenge! I hope to do a theme a day, but life is crazy, so we'll see. I'll write at least three a week for sure. Rules are that I have to pick a theme from her list, and then write around a hundred words based on that theme in ten minutes, so expect these to be rather short. I'll do my best and I hope you enjoy!**

Theme 09: Almost

With a strangled cry, I watched my best friend writhe in the enemy's grip. He'd almost landed a solid hit, almost.

The creepy old man cackled as cracks ran around Ven's helmet, and the poor boy struggled pathetically to get out of his grip. He thrashed back and forth, and almost got away, almost.

With a smirk, the man we once called Master frozen Ventus solid, almost killing him, and then heartless beast threw him down the cliff. Terra charged at the monster as I watched Ven fall, getting ready to catch him, praying he arrived in one piece.

As he tumbled, the tip of his Keyblade snapped in half, almost in the same place where Hook had snapped that old toy, almost. Splitters glittered in the air, but Ventus was still falling. Time and again, a much more vital piece –an arm, or a leg – would be almost broken off, almost.

My heart in my throat, I dove, catching the immobile form – so precious to Terra and I – and I almost missed, almost.

**That might not be the best start, but I'm happy-ish with it. Hopefully, I'll be more inspired next theme, I spent most of my time on this one trying to come up with something. **


	2. Spread Your Wings

Theme 07: Spread Your Wings

_This place again? _Sora wondered, looking around at the dark space, lit from above and below. There was a new pattern on the stained glass underneath his feet now, a ship on the horizon line. Someone cleared their throat, causing Sora to jerk his head up and look out.

It was how it had always been, someone familiar, that Sora felt he should know, and yet didn't. Sometimes, details became clear, but most of the time Sora could not have said what the figure looked like at all. Tonight, all he could make out were bright blue eyes and a luminous smile in the dark of someone's face. It was the figure that had cleared his throat and made Sora look up.

_Spread your wings, Sora. You're going to like this world._ The figure said, his usually melancholy voice full of laughter.

"Sora! Sora wake up!" an impatient raspy voice jerked Sora awake. He sat up, nearly hitting his head on Donald's bill.

"Wah… What's going on?" he yawned groggily, rubbing one eye. Donald stamped his foot and fumed.

"We're here!" Goofy explained, chipper and oblivious as always. "This world's called Neverland." Sora poked his head out of the gummi ship.

_Spread your wings_, he caught himself thinking in a voice that didn't belong to him. _Where did that come from? _He wondered. Shrugging it off, he stepped out of the gummi ship and onto yet another new world, unaware that there was another who had been here before.

**A/N:** Ok, so I know that's not exactly how they land in Neverland the first time, but I had forgotten about that until after my ten minutes were up, so I can't change it now. I hope you liked it anyway!


	3. On Top of the World

**A/N: Ok, so I totally cheated and took twenty minutes to write this. ^_^'**

Theme 52: On Top of the World

"Bet I can beat you to the top!" Sora challenged, pointing to two tall, thick coconut trees. Riku grinned at his best friend, teal eyes flashing with his usual intensity.  
"Oh yeah, try me!" He said, clamping his arms around one trunk. He scrambled upwards with ease.  
Sora leapt on the other tree, fighting to catch up. "No fair! I didn't say go yet!" He protested loudly.  
"Ha ha!" Riku laughed. "You snooze, you lose, Sora!" He was already half-way up the trunk, though Sora was gaining on him.  
"You always cheat!" Sora accused, pulling himself up with obvious effort.  
"Yeah right! You're just too slow," Riku scoffed.  
"Am not! Watch this!" Sora attempted to flip himself over and crawl up backwards and nearly fell off the tree he was two thirds of the way up. Somehow, he managed to catch himself. Flailing crazily, he tried to make up the ground he had just lost.  
"Whatever. I won, again," Riku sighed, pulling himself up to the top of the tree and sitting on it. He could see the whole island chain from here.  
"Because you cheated!" Sora grumbled, reaching the top of his tree. With wide blue eyes, he took in the sprawl of their little world.  
Riku waved his comment off. "You couldn't beat me even if I gave you a head start."  
"That's not true! I can beat you at Go Fish, and Yahtzee, and Solitaire, and… and… and lots of other stuff!" Sora listed on his fingers.  
"Calm down. Geesh, can't have you popping a blood vessel or anything, gramps," Riku remarked, staring at Sora slyly out of the corner of his eyes.  
"What did you call me?" Sora growled, turning to face Riku with a decidedly un-frightening glare.  
"You're just so slow. You must be aging weird, or something. You're like an old man," Riku continued, sounding bored and not even bothering to look at Sora.  
"You're the one with white hair! If anyone's an old man it's you, grandpa," Sora shouted, gesturing wildly.  
"Please, oh ancient one, don't stress yourself to insult me. Such a thing is far above your abilities now," Riku drawled, standing up and mock-bowing to Sora.  
"I'll 'ancient one' you!" A bright-red Sora bellowed, leaping from his tree to Riku's. The two friends began to tussle, laughing outright after awhile because they weren't sure how they managed to stay on top of the tallest tree in Destiny Islands. 


	4. Figure of Speech

**A/N – Alright! Yesterday was absolutely insane, so I'm doing two today to make up for it. Here's the first one!**

Theme 15: Figure of Speech

It's good to be here, finally. At first, I wasn't quite used to it. I wandered around, just taking everything in. The realm of darkness is weird, full of strange shadows and glowing rocks and this one huge, long, twisting pathway floating in nothing. I'm not afraid of heights, but staring into that abyss'll give anyone vertigo.

This place really isn't that great; that's not why I'm happy to be here. I'm happy because I can _be happy_. After not having emotions for a couple years, that's huge. I keep feeling all kinds of different things. It's awesome. I keep going through all my memories as I wander around. My laughter echoes back at me.

It's funny. They aren't that happy, most of them – my memories, I mean. Still, even when I feel depressed, the fact that I can feel at all makes me smile. Smile! I haven't in so long.

Death is really just a figure of speech, when you're a Nobody.

**A/N –** Ewww… not happy with this one at all, but it's the best I can come up with. I'll give an imaginary data cookie to anyone who can figure out who's talking!

**Review Response:**

**Fantasy0Girl-** Thanks for the reviews! I only cheated on Chapter 3. Expect a review from me on yours soon! I'm going to read it ASAP.  
As for chapter 2 being creepy, I've recently watched Birth by Sleep on Youtube (I don't have a PSP T_T) and I've been really curious about *SPOILER ALERT* how having Ven in his heart affects Sora. *End spoilers* So that was kind of me starting to process that. Sorry if it was slightly creep-tastic.  
Chapter 3 was very fun to write, and I'm glad you liked it.  
I hope to hear from you again soon!


	5. Shine

**A/N: In honor of 10/10/10 day, I chose theme ten! I should have written in binary or something… o.O more ones and zeros! XD Anyway, enjoy!**

Theme 10: Shine

The ocean's shining with the sunset today. I feel like I'm shining too.

Sora and Riku haven't been back very long, and we've barely spent an hour apart. Tonight, however, is a little different. Sora finally asked me out! It took him long enough, but I guess traveling around the worlds made things a little difficult.

We've kept things simple. He's so awkward, but it's kind of endearing. We're both so used to just being friends. He took me on a picnic on our island. Now we're just sitting on the dock where we used to go to talk. It's nice, just watching the sunset.

EEEP! He's holding my hand! I feel like sunshine's burning around inside me, under my skin. He's blushing; I bet I am too. This is so glorious. I can't tell you have long I've waited for this simple moment.

I'm kind of debating kissing him. I don't want to rush anything, and I don't really know how to kiss. But, maybe I should go for it. I don't know. I'm so- so- I don't even know! There's all these butterflies in my stomach, and my thoughts are all over the place and – and – Bliss. He kissed me! Can you keep a secret? Sora tastes like sunshine! EEEP!

**A/N** – I know, I know, silly and girly. I don't know if it actually sounds like Kairi at all… -_-' I hope so, though. It's kind of stupid, but the "EEEP!"s make me giggle. XD I had fun writing this, even if it kind of sucks.


	6. Short and Sweet

Theme 55: Short and Sweet

"No," Kairi said definitively. Selphie laughed.

"Way to be short, sweet, and to the point, Kairi!" she giggled.

Kairi shrugged. "Well, it's not Tidus, alright!"

"Wakka?" Selphie prodded.

"Please, Selphie, just drop it!" Kairi begged as the two ten-year old girls walked home from school.

"Aw, you're no fun!" Selphie complained, waving Kairi away.

"I just don't want to talk about it right now," the red-head said quietly. Selphie shrugged.

"Well, you already know I like Riku-"She paused, gasping. "It's Riku, isn't it! You like Riku too! That's why you don't want to tell me! Too bad for you, I called him first, and that's final! I'm going to sharing a paopu with him! It'll be so romantic! So you can't have him."

Kairi waved her hands. "Selphie, Riku's just a friend, I promise!"

"Oh, well, ok." They walked onwards. "You know, I'm going to find out sooner or later. You can't hide it from me forever!"

Kairi sighed, hanging her head. If only Selphie was as sweet as she looked.


	7. Mistletoe

Theme 27: Mistletoe

"Uh, Jack, what's this?" Sora asked, holding up a sprig of leafy greens with white berries. The berries had had black stripes painted on them, and the leaves had holes punched through them. The bunch was tied together with a black ribbon.

"That's mistletoe!" the Pumpkin King said enthusiastically. "You hang it up over doorways, and couples who walk underneath it have to kiss!" Sora held the bunch a little farther away from him, and Jack laughed. "It's not poisonous, well, so long as you don't eat it…"

*~*~*~*  
That was the first thing that popped into Sora's head when he saw what Kairi had stuck over her front door: Mistletoe. True, the berries were unpainted, the leaves were whole, and the ribbon was shiny and red, but it was definitely the same stuff.

"Do you like them? We're decorating early this year," Kairi said with a smile, completely oblivious to Sora's discomfort.

"Uh, yeah, sure…" Sora said uncertainly, still standing on the front porch of Kairi's house.

"Just go through the door already," Riku said, shoving his best friend foreword. They had both come to hang out at Kairi's today. She had wanted to show them something, or have them help with something. Sora couldn't really remember what it was, now. He stumbled forward, unprepared for Riku's shove.

Riku grinned as he watched Sora and Kairi collide. Sora might have had to go to Halloween Town to learn about mistletoe, but Riku certainly didn't. Kairi apparently didn't have to, either, because she looked up and said, "Look, Sora, mistletoe," before kissing him right on the lips. Riku laughed as his best friend suddenly turned as bright red as a Christmas bow. This would definitely be a Christmas none of them would forget.

*~*~*~*~*~*  
**A/N –** Halloween's been on my mind a lot lately, since it is October, so I had to included Jack in here. As for Sora and Kairi kissing, well, I couldn't resist! XD I'm such a Sokai shipper. Poor Sora, being surprised like that! I hope you enjoyed this uber fluff!


	8. Love

**A/N – Ok, so I've missed a couple days. Time for a massive upload (ok… only like three) to make up for it!**

Theme 43: Love

_(All) _Love,  
_(Riku) _Is that breath between the thought and the action.  
_(Roxas) _Is that power I can't understand.  
_(Sora) _Is that moment where you're completely sure.  
_(Kairi) _This is it.  
_(Axel) _It's hard to explain.  
_(Sora) _It's sacrifice, and friendship.  
_(Namin__é__) _It's holding hands, holding hearts,  
_(Riku) _In a circle of pure, strong light.  
_(Sora) _When you pick up the sword,  
_(Kairi) _When you pick up your head,  
_(Riku) _When you finally let go,  
_(Sora) _And plunge right in.  
_(Roxas )_It's… sort of hard to describe,  
_(All) _But I know this feeling.

**A/N – It's a song, it's a play, it's… something! XD I don't even know where this came from or what it is. I am curious to see what you guys think of it. I don't even know what kind of literature this qualifies as. Oh twell, try to enjoy it anyway. **** You know it's going to be weird when you know the last line first…**


	9. Fear

Theme 17: Fear

Strange people do not just show up out of nowhere, not on Destiny Islands. First off, that dark, smoky, egg thing he came out of was a dead give-away. This man was dangerous.

He was wearing all black, which contrasted sharply with his pale skin and bright red hair. His eyes looked… I don't know, tense? Haunted? Angry? I can't exactly remember. Whatever message I got from them, it wasn't a good one. He was talking about Sora. He claimed to be his friend. Well, I didn't believe that for a second. Sora wouldn't have anything to do with a guy like this, would he? True, I hadn't seen or heard from him in over a year… No. Sora wouldn't have changed that much.

I was so glad when that dog showed up, even though it came from another one of those swirling dark ovals. He seemed familiar, and sweet. What's not to love about a dog, right? That whistle, too, was familiar. So I went through.

I thought I had escaped.

Portals, can, apparently, take you anywhere. Axel found me pretty easily. It was weird, Hayner and Pence just fell right through him, like he wasn't there, when they tried to rescue me. But his grip on my wrist was definitely real. A little too real, if you ask me. I kept wishing I would wake up, and this would all be some terrible nightmare.

Some nights, now, I wake up and that's true, but it wasn't then. And it wasn't the worst that was about to happen, either.

**A/N – Thanks to Fantasy0Girl for this idea (see her 100 theme challenge – theme 9) and for her consistent, helpful reviews! ^_^  
I'm still no good writing as Kairi, but oh well. Practice makes perfect, right? And, with any luck, she'll be in KH3 a lot more than she's been in the other games!  
I'm not really happy with this, but a ten minute limit = no time for polishing.**


	10. Simple

Theme 39: Simple

"I'll race you!" Kairi shouted, giggling. It was an almost sacred tradition now – No explanation was needed, and their response was reflexive, instinctive. Sora and Riku leapt to their feet.

"First one to the tree wins!" Sora shouted in a high, eight year old voice. Riku wasted no breath and dashed forward, churning up sand. Sora was close on his heels. Kairi ran behind them, arms swinging, a huge smile on her face. She didn't race, but she liked to try to keep up.

The friends dashed forward, charging up wooden ramps and rickety stairways, slamming open doors and thundering down the wooden bridge to the tree. Gleefully, Sora perched on it first.

"I win!" He rejoiced, grinning hugely at Riku sprawled out on the ground below.

"Only because you pushed me!" He shouted, indignant. Sora laughed.

"We never said that was against the rules. Whoever gets on the tree first wins."

Riku jumped up beside him and promptly shoved him off.

"That's the only time you'll ever beat me," he promised, crossing his arms against his chest.

Kairi, who hadn't been able to get a word in edge-wise, checked on Sora while giggling uproariously.


	11. Crystal

**A/N – So, last week is officially the week that never was, and we are going to pretend it didn't exist and I didn't miss an entire week of this thing. Okay? :D**

Theme 90: Crystal

It was big and round and clear, sitting on a white pedestal. _Like a crystal ball_, my brain supplied. I couldn't remember my name or where I was, but I knew that stupid orb was a crystal ball.

I looked at the white walls all around me. Even I was dressed in white. I felt like there should be some color, somewhere. So I went looking for some.

I wandered around the whole building that day. Thirteen floors above ground and then thirteen floors below. I should have entered different places from my memory at each floor, but I didn't. I could feel the fact that I was supposed to, though. I wasn't sure what that meant. Maybe I was special?

I didn't know a lot of things, but I started learning. I found some crayons, and an empty notebook. I divided my time between those and wandering up and down the empty white hallways. I drew scenes from my memory, scenes of an island and two boys that I already cared about very much.

I put my pictures all over the room with the huge crystal ball. I'd begun to think of it as my room, since it was my birthplace, after all. I often stood in front of the orb and tried to make it show me something. Wasn't that what crystal balls are for? But it never worked. Clear as crystal, how ironic.

I was bored, and lonely. I wish I would have stayed that way.


	12. I Know

Theme 25: I Know

_Um, hello._

_**Hi.**_

_I thought I should get to know you, since you are my Nobody, after all. Your name is Namin__é__, right?_

_**Yes, it is.**_ Is it weird that I could feel the smile in her voice?

_**What is it you want to know?**_

_What was it like, being a Nobody?_

She didn't say anything for awhile. I got the sense that, if we were talking face to face, she would have been frowning, and looking at the ground, trying to think of what to say.

_**Mostly, it was painful, and frightening. But, I'm not so upset about it, now that I'm with you.**_

_Why is that better? _I felt like I had to ask. I didn't really understand, exactly, what our relationship was. Was she a separate person trapped inside of me? Or did I now have a split personality? Or was she just an embodiment of myself?

_**I don't have to be afraid anymore. I don't have to feel empty anymore either. I'm whole. **_I felt her smile again. _**It's what I've always wanted.**_

_Did you meet Sora when you were apart from me?_

_**Yes, I did. It was nice. I can see why you love him.**_

_Do you? _I asked warily. I felt her shake her head and smile more.

_**I did once, but now I have Roxas. Sora loves you, you know.**_

Now I was the one smiling. _I know. It's nice to meet you, Namin__é__._

_**It's nice to meet you too, Kairi. **_

"KAIRI! Hurry up! Riku and I can't wait out here all day!" I heard Sora shout at my bedroom window. I threw back the curtains and opened the window up wide.

"I'll be right down!"

**A/N – **The Nobody/Other relationship has always fascinated and perplexed me, and this is just one of the myriad ways I try to deal with it and puzzle it out. I did not cheat on time with this one, believe it or not!  
Special thanks to Fantasy0Girl for being the best reviewer ever! ^_^

Shameless plug: Go check out my new comedy, Axel and the Dog!


	13. Sugar and Spice

Theme 64: Sugar and Spice

"Sugar and spice and everything nice, that's what little girls are made of!" Kairi quoted, prancing around Sora in a taunting manner, her little hands on her hips. The six-year old stuck her tongue out at her friend, daring him to deny it.

Sora titled his head to the side, not sure exactly what on earth Kairi was bragging about, anyway. She sounded like she was describing something his mom cooked, not a little girl. "What are little boys made of?" he asked, poking a window into the lump of a sandcastle he was making.

"Snips and snails and puppy dog tails!" Kairi shot back at him, irritated that he didn't seem bothered by how superior girls were to boys. Sora shrugged, trying to make his castle taller.

"Aw, that's no fun! Let's make something better up!" he suggested, turning wide blue eyes on his new friend. Kairi pondered this. It sounded more fun than being irritating. She nodded and sat down on the sand next to Sora.

"So, what do you think little boys are made of?" she asked. He was, after all, a boy. He should know. She started to make her own sand castle.

"That's my wet sand!" Sora protested, scraping her pile next to his castle angrily. "Um… ice cream, and wooden swords… and paper airplanes, and maybe some sugar too. My mom always says I have lots of energy, and that sugar makes it worse, so, there's gotta be some sugar in little boys too, right?" Kairi giggled and nodded and started helping Sora with his sandcastle, since he wouldn't let her build her own.

"That sounds about right. But I like the part about the puppy dog tails."

"But that's mean! I wouldn't cut the tails off of poor little puppies!"

"Well, maybe little boys can just be made of whole puppies then, instead of just the tails."

"Sounds good! What about little girls?"

"I already told you, Sora! We're made of sugar and spice and everything nice!" She stole her lump of wet sand back and turned so that her back made a barricade of protection.

"Kairi!" Sora whined. "I need that for my castle!" Kairi peered over her shoulder at him and stuck her tongue out. She turned around and kept building. Sora crossed his arms over his chest with a "hrmph" sort of noise.

"Everything nice… yeah right!"

**

* * *

**

A/N –

Riku was supposed to show up sometime… but he didn't. I hope you enjoyed! This one made me giggle as I wrote it.  
Special thanks to Fantasy0Girl for reviewing. ^_^ 


	14. Moon

**A/N – Alright! So I'm five days behind… bad me, bad me! I decided to pull another catch-up day, so you get four all at once! ^_^ This one is for Halloween. I hope you have a good one! Enjoy!**

Theme 30: Moon

"Wow," Kairi breathed, staring at the huge full moon balancing on the horizon line. Sora smirked at her facial expression.

"You know, maybe this world isn't so bad," Riku remarked, leaning against a huge headstone. The silver haired teen was dressed in a black and silver were-wolf costume. Kairi had on a witch costume, complete with a silver bell on the end of her pointed hat.

Sora, in full vampire regalia, nodded at his friends. "C'mon, it looks even better from the top of the hill!" he said, waving for them to follow. Kairi took his hand and started running with him up the hill. Riku straightened up and walked calmly after them, a small smile on his face.

They reached to top of the hill and sat down, legs dangling over the spiral, bathed in the light of Halloween Town's bright full moon.

**A/N –I hope you liked it! All I can say is that is Kairi and Riku don't travel with Sora next time around I will be angry! And yes, I have seen the BBS secret ending. I'm waiting until they announce KHIII.**


	15. Blood

Theme 11: Blood

He remembers the first time he was seriously wounded. A heartless had clawed him in the arm. Red, sick, deep red, went flying. He could see it on the heartless's claws. There was pain, and it took him a minute to connect the red with the pain and the red and the pain with the arm. He looked down, and his whole arm was red.

"SORA! CURA!" Donald rasped, pointing his wand. The arm glowed green, and he caught a glimpse of bone before the gashes sealed up.

"Thanks, Donald!" He yelled, nearly slipping in his own blood. He'd known, of course, that this was life and death. It just hadn't hit him until then.

**A/N - I didn't know what to do for this one…**


	16. Warmth

Theme 26: Warmth

He was smiling, but there was a stinging feeling in his eyes. Riku tried to ignore it, he wasn't someone who cried. But as the King spoke to him, guiding him not only through the strange white castle, but also through his darkness, he felt the strangest sensation.

It had been hard, fighting this far, and he knew he had a long way to go. He wasn't any closer to defeating the darkness inside him. Riku hated to admit it, but he was scared. The King didn't seem worried though. He was sure Riku could handle his darkness, and anything else that faced him in the castle. The King believed in him, despite everything. That confidence, that friendship, it was what made this weird feeling bubble up inside him again. It had been a long time since he'd felt this way, but it reminded him of the sunshine on the beach, and hanging out with Sora and Kairi. All of the sudden, he had the word. This feeling, it was warmth.

_Funny, I didn't even know I felt cold._


	17. Protect

Theme 38: Protect

"Why do you think that lady told me to protect you?" Sora asked Riku one day while they were playing. The incident had happened about a week ago. Riku had thought Sora had forgotten it, but now as his friend dangled up-side down he realized that he had been wondering about it the whole time. Riku shrugged, poking a bug with a thin stick.

"I don't know. Maybe because we're best friends," he said. It bothered him, that she had said that. It was his job to protect Sora, not the other way around. Did she not think he was strong enough? Then why would she think Sora was stronger? Riku beat him at everything, even board games.

"Then why didn't she tell you to protect me, too?" Sora asked, swinging back and forth, face turning red from being upside down so long. Riku gave him a shove and he swung harder, giggling.

"Because I already know to do that, silly," he scoffed, grinning. Sora let go, and belly-flopped to the ground. Both boys laughed.

"Maybe she knows something we don't," Sora suggested, sitting up. "Someday, if we have to, we'll take care of each other, right?"

"Of course," Riku agreed with a firm nod. Sora beamed at him.

"I'll race you to the star-tree!" he said, bouncing up.

"They're called paopus!" Riku informed him, dashing after his best friend.

**A/N – **Is it weird that I love writing little kid Sora and Riku? XD


	18. Black

**A/N – In honor of Halloween, I have done Theme 31. Unfortunately, it's super depressing, so just be aware. Also, BBS SPOILERS abound, just a warning. You can't miss the fact that it's in all bold and all caps. ^_^ For those of you that already beat the game/ watch all of the cutscenes on YouTube (like I did. They are all there, as far as I know) please enjoy! **

Theme 31: Black

Darkness wasn't exactly black, not really. There was a lot of that shade – or lack thereof, according to science – in it, but there were greys and purples and deep blues and even sometimes pinks in it, too. Its bizarre appearance used to frighten him.

Terra was slowly getting used to it though, these days. Floating, in this strange man's heart, all he seemed to see anymore was darkness. He'd given up fighting. Xehanort was too strong, and he grew stronger every day. He leached the youth out of Terra's body. All of the vitality and energy that should have aided Terra in his struggle against his possessor were now utterly useless to him. Useless, just like he was to his friends.

In the beginning, their light kept him fighting. It was probably the only think that kept him alive now. But it wasn't enough. They hadn't exactly been on good terms when the battle erupted. Old ties and old habits kept them fighting together, but he wasn't really sure where they stood when it all exploded like that. It was hard not to know. Every day, their light around him grew a little dimmer, he grew a little weaker, and Xehanort gained even more ground.

Terra hated and cursed the man possessing his body, but that only made the darkness grow. Aqua had said as much. She wouldn't have been taken in the first place; she was too smart for that. It was one of the reasons; he realized now, why he loved her. Ven, too, would have fought him off by now. But Terra just couldn't, for some reason. He felt so weak and helpless and alone, so guilty and foolish and stupid.

He knew exactly what Xehanort was using him for. And he knew what happened on the day everything went black. Xehanort was finally divesting himself of a heart, and with it, Terra's last desperate, weak struggles for life.

Terra wasn't sure what would happen next.

**A/N** – I will always feel eternally bad for Terra. Xehanort lost his heart and became Xemnas, so we know he never won that battle. What became of him? I have no idea, but it makes me very sad. I really liked him, despite him having no creeper radar what-so-ever. How anyone could miss that Maleficent was bad news is beyond me. But he seemed like a decent guy, really. T_T I want him to be reunited with his friends, but I have no clue how that will happen, if it's even possible. So, this is my little emo tribute to him, in a weird way. I hope you enjoyed!


	19. Beginning

**A/N – In my creative writing class we talked about poetry formats, and I was dying to try one of them out. A Pantoum is the only one I figured I could do in under ten minutes. I hope you like it!**

Theme 1: Beginning

Birth by sleep  
The beginning is the end  
You wouldn't think so  
Truth is not always easy

The beginning is the end  
Destruction becomes salvation  
Truth is not always easy  
At the end of the world

Destruction becomes salvation  
For the boy, the friends, and the Key  
At the end of the world  
There is another new beginning

For the boy, the friends, and the Key  
Shadows are filled with starlight  
There is another new beginning  
After the end of each adventure

Shadows are filled with starlight  
When light is summoned forth  
Yet light can beget shadows  
This is the beginning mystery

When light is summoned forth  
The darkness sees its end  
This is the beginning mystery  
When the beginning will take place

The darkness sees its end  
When the true darkness is taken hold of  
When the beginning will take place  
Of the next adventure

When the true darkness is taken hold of  
Then, truly, there will be nothing to fear  
Of the next adventure  
There is only a letter in a bottle

Then, truly, there will be nothing to fear  
Instead of your empty promises  
There is only a letter in a bottle  
But it is the heart of love

Instead of your empty promises  
Birth by Sleep  
You wouldn't think so  
But it is the heart of love.


	20. Stick Together

**A/N – I'd like to dedicate this to my awesome reviewers, ****Fantasy0Girl**** and ****The Masked Wanderer****. You guys are wonderful. You pretty much always make my day. ^_^ I'd also like to dedicate this to those who have favorited this story and added it to their alert list – ****It's not that****, ****NexarkXIII****, ****Batamut****, ****Fantasy0Girl****, and ****The Masked Wanderer****. Thank you everyone and I hope you enjoy the rest of the journey!**

Theme 81: Stick Together

"_But I'm not gonna betray Sora, either, because he's become one of my best buddies after all we've been through together! See ya later, Donald! Could ya tell the King I'm really sorry?" "Hold on, Goofy! We'll tell him together! Well, you know, all for one and one for all." "I guess you're stuck with us, Sora."_

Sora smiled at the memory as he looked up at the stars. He was lying on his back, and the grass tickled his arms and legs as it twitched in the faint breeze. The campfire crackled near his feet, and he could hear Donald and Goofy's not so quiet breathing very close by.

Head resting in his hands, he turned to smile at his sleeping friends. It was true, they'd been through so much together, and they weren't done yet. They still had to find Riku and the King.

While he wished he could be safely home with Riku and Kairi, he knew he'd never have better friends to travel the worlds with than Donald and Goofy. From day one, they'd always had his back, fighting by his side and working together to save the worlds. Their loyalty went far beyond the King's command, whatever exactly that had been. Sora looked up at the thin sliver of crescent moon that mirrored his content expression, rolled on his side, and went to sleep.


	21. Destiny

Theme 48: Destiny

Kairi sat bolt upright in bed, her thin sheet tangled around her legs. A fine sheen of sweat coated her skin, but the temperature of the Islands was perfect as usual. Hastily, she disentangled herself from her blanket and scrambled out of bed.

Padding softly in bare feet, she crossed the hard wood floor to her desk, where she flicked on her flower shaped lamp. She grabbed a piece of paper and a pen and began writing furiously.

_Thinking of you, wherever you are._

_We pray for our sorrows to end,  
and hope that our hearts will blend.  
Now I will step forward and realize this wish._

_And who knows,  
Starting a new journey may not be so hard,  
Or maybe it has already begun._

_There are many worlds,  
But they share the same sky-  
One sky, one destiny_

When she was done, she read over the poem twice, just to make sure it had said what she needed it to. That dream, it had been so vivid, though she could barely remember it now. All she had was the poem, and the ghostly feeling of a boy she couldn't remember, but she knew meant the world to her.

Kairi rolled the piece of paper up, and then walked over to her nightstand. There was a glass bottle full of sand from her first day on Destiny Islands. She pulled out the cork stopper and poured the sand into an empty water glass on her desk. Then she stuffed the paper into the bottle, put the stopper back in it, and put it in her school bag. She would carry it with her until she knew what to do with it; who to send it to.

Kairi flicked off the lamp and crawled into bed, smoothing out her blankets around herself. She looked out the window at the island where she remembered the boy. "One sky, one destiny…" she mumbled as her eyes fluttered closed and she fell asleep.


	22. Dream

Theme 2: Dream

What's your dream?  
1. To become the best at what I do  
2. To escape/gain freedom  
3. To see rare sights  
4. To make a difference

"_What kind of weird question is that?" _Ven wondered. He was stuck in some strange dream, and for the last hour or so he'd been wandering around on stained glass platforms. Now, his parents and friends were asking him multiple choice questions. Bizarre.

"Um, one, I guess," he said aloud, in the high voice of a young child. His mother nodded, a faint smile in her soft blue eyes.

A few questions later, Ven woke up, wondering what on earth was up with his brain.

"What a weird dream…" he murmured, looking out at his room.

**A/N – Okay, so I was thoroughly uninspired… I might do a few things with this one. I'm tossing around starting the next few chapters with quiz sort of questions like these, and at the end of it having results for those of you who want to take it.  
I'm also debating using the themes to write a longer mini-story about Ven's early life, since we don't know about anything that happened to him before he was 14 or so. Feel free to speak up on what you want. I might do one, I might do the other, I might do none, but I won't do both.  
So, I hope you somehow managed to enjoy that. More soon!**


	23. Lucky

**A/N – I know, I know, bad me, I've been gone for awhile. Well, I'm going to make it up to you with lots of updates in the next few days. Thanks again to all my reviewers, and here's the next segment in the little mini Ven saga I decided to do!**

**Edit: Thank you, Fantasy0Girl for catching that typo! It has been fixed.**

Theme 13: Lucky

"Ma'am, your son is one of the lucky few, chosen by the power of the Keyblade. I would like to take him on as my apprentice," the dark man said. His voice sounded like he was speaking through rocks. Ven wasn't sure what to think about him, but the promise of adventure and knowledge sounded like fun to the eight year old.

"Did you hear that, Ventus? Master Xehanort wants to teach you to use the Keyblade!" His mother said excitedly. Her honey brown hair dangled in his face as she bent over to look him in the eye. Mother and son wore matching smiles. Ven nodded eagerly.

"Can we go now?" he asked, overly excited. His mother straightened up and laughed, ruffling his hair.

"You'll bring him back to visit, right?" she asked. Master Xehanort shook his head.

"No. Unfortunately, training is a long and difficult process requiring intense concentration for many years. Ventus cannot be distracted with family and friends. He must only focus on learning to master the Keyblade."

"Oh, um, well then…" Ven's mother stuttered, unsure of how to take this news. She clutched Ven close involuntarily.

"You mean I can't see my mom ever again?" Ven asked, aghast.

"I'm afraid not," Master Xehanort replied coolly. Ven balled up his fists and glared at the old man.

"Then I'm not going! I'll learn to use the Keyblade on my own!" _My mom needs me..._

"Very well then, if you wish," Master Xehanort said, turning around. "Wasted opportunities are such a pity."

That night, there was a terrible fire in the town. Many people died, but one little boy was rescued from the flames. Ventus left with Master Xehanort, never to return.


	24. Wave

Theme 3: Wave

"Focus your magic! Let it build within you, then release it with the force of a tidal wave!" Master Xehanort instructed his young pupil. Three years had passed since the terrible fire had consumed Ventus's world and his mother.

"Yes, Master!" Ven replied, always eager to please. He closed his eyes and focused on the spell he wanted to create. Light gathered around him as he drew power to himself. Master Xehanort frowned. Ventus had long ago proven that he was the weapon the Master was searching for, but he would never reach fruition if he didn't learn to use the darkness inside of him. Ven finally finished building power and released a massive blast of ice, freezing everything in front of him for at least ten yards.

"Very good, very good," Master Xehanort grumbled out. He didn't sound displeased, as his voice was always a growl. Ven turned around to face him, smiling widely.

"Did you see that? I nailed it!" He rejoiced, pumping his fist in the air. Master Xehanort frowned, and Ven's face fell. His arm followed.

"You're still not using your full strength. Your light can only do so much. It is time you started to learn the power of darkness."

"Darkness?"

"Yes, that all consuming power that began everything! Darkness is where worlds began, where light itself found being. Only in the power of darkness will you find your true purpose."

"My true purpose…?" Ven asked slowly, eyebrows scrunching together in confusion. He involuntarily took up a defensive posture, frightened by his Master's speech.

"You will learn about that later on. For now, content yourself with the pursuit of darkness. Come with me, we'll work on this over the next ridge." Master Xehanort turned, folding his hands behind his back, and walked away.

"Yes, Master!" Ven said, stumbling over himself to catch up.

**A/N – I hope your enjoying this. I'm not sure I'm getting Master Xehanort exactly right, but I'm working on it. The themes make it a little more difficult to write, as does the time limit, so I'm not incredibly happy with it yet. Hopefully, though, it's not making your imagination bleed because it's so awful or anything like that. XD **


	25. Pain

Theme 94: Pain

They reached to top of the ridge. The wind yanked at the edges of their clothes, and Ven widened his stance to brace against it. The whole of the ruined landscape they used to train spread out before them in dull browns and grays. Master Xehanort's hungry yellow eyes swept back and forth.

"It was here that it all began," he said in his gravelly voice, hands clasped behind his back. Ven turned to watch his master.

"What all began?" he interrupted, holding an arm up to block dirt from his eyes. Xehanort glared at him out of the corner of his eyes.

"If you'd be quiet and listen, then maybe you'd learn a thing or two," he snapped, gaze returning to the massive fields of Keyblades buried in the dirt. "The Keyblade War… many years ago wielders of the Keyblade such as ourselves gathered in darkness and waged an epic war, the likes of which have never been seen in our time. From that war came a spark of light, and from that light our worlds were born. It is our job to bring about the darkness, so that the ultimate light can be born! If one Keyblade War created all that we know, another will surely bring about something greater. Now," he turned his focus back to the boy, "your lessons begin!" Xehanort extended his hand, and a rush of darkness surrounded him. Out of the ground, shadows spilled like pools of blood, and creatures leapt out from them.

Ven started, summoning his Keyblade. "Master, what are these?" he asked, shocked and frightened.

"The very essence of darkness. To defeat them, you must open your heart up to the power they offer."

"H-how do you I do that?" Ven asked, eyes wide with fright as the shadows crept closer.

"Fight!" Master Xehanort ordered.

"Yes, Master!" Ven shouted, whirling on the Shadows. He honed in on one to defeat first. Blocking its claws, he scythed his Keyblade across the creature's midsection, only to be struck from behind by another shadow. "Gaaah!" he howled, whirling. A tingling pain arced up his back as the darkness set into his skin. He struck out wildly, catching a shadow in the jaw. It went flying away, disappearing off the edge of the ridge. Two more crept up on either side. With quick, pain-laced movements, Ven dispatched the shadow in front of him and turned to face his last two attackers. He began to glow faintly, summoning a small burst of magic. He thrust his Keyblade into the air to cast, but one creature leapt in under his guard, slashing at his leg. "Nnugh!" He grunted, stumbling away. The thunder spell shot off wildly, missing both creatures.

"Why does this hurt so much?" Ven muttered under his breath, regaining his footing and drawing more power to himself. This time, his magic didn't miss, and the creatures evaporated in a wisp of dark mist. Ven straightened out of his defensive crouch and put one hand on his injured leg. He kept one eye squinted closed, trying to ignore the pain playing havoc along his spine. Training had never been like this before.

**A/N – I cheated, I cheated, I cheated! But I hadn't even said anything in relation to the theme yet by the time my time limit was up, so… yeah. Not super happy with this chapter either, but oh well. I'll keep working. Unless something changes, I'm going to do four more chapters of Ven's mini-saga and then I'll be back to random people and situations for each theme. Sound good to everybody? Thanks for reading!**


	26. Say Please

Theme 29: Say Please

Training went on like this for several days. After each session, Master Xehanort would shake his head at Ven's progress. The next day there were always more dark creatures. Finally, a week had passed, and Ven just couldn't take it anymore.

"I can't do this, Master! I need a break!" he pleaded as they stood on another of the countless ridges in the Keyblade Graveyard.

"That's because you have yet to open yourself up to darkness. Your fear makes you weak! Turn that fear into rage; sharpen it into a weapon of hatred!"

"I can't do it, I won't!" Ven protested, shaking his head and fists. Master Xehanort frowned at the boy.

"You must!" he ordered sharply, golden eyes narrowing. Ven shook his head once more.

"Please, I just need a break! I've never been so sore and –"

"Begging will get you nowhere, boy! Steel yourself; open your heart to the darkness inside you!" the old man shouted, throwing his arms to the sky. Ven quailed in fear as another round of shadow creatures erupted from the ground. He fought for his life, while Xehanort looked on with a frown. Finally, the creatures were defeated. Ven's legs trembled uncontrollably, and he leaned on his Keyblade like a crutch.

"Please, Master," he begged, not really sure exactly what he was asking for anymore. Master Xehanort shook his head.

"Boy," he said, walking towards Ven and gesturing animatedly with his white gloved hands. "You must try to understand. If you don't welcome the darkness in your heart you can never achieve your true purpose. My only wish is to see you grow in strength and power, to become the ultimate weapon, the χ-blade." He laid a hand on Ventus's trembling shoulder. "That is why I make you fight so hard."

**A/N – I don't really like how this one ends, but my time was up, so yeah. I hope your enjoying my mini-story, even though it's pretty sad. Thanks to Fantasy0Girl and UltraWonderBoy for their reviews. I will fix those typos in the earlier chapter!**


	27. Runaway

Theme 75: Runaway

Ven had tried to tough it out another day. There were more creatures, like always, but these were even bigger, with huge, jagged antennas protruding from their purple-veined skulls. They were faster, cleverer, and much more deadly. He'd barely made it out alive, and had nearly passed out when he did.

He couldn't go on this way, he knew. Every day, Master Xehanort talked more and more about his purpose and the darkness and the mysterious weapon he called the χ-blade. The word sounded the same, but Ventus could tell it meant something different.

So that's how he found himself here, in his small room, stuffing everything he could into a backpack. He had to get out of here. Once he finished packing, he slung the backpack over his shoulders and summoned his Keyblade. His gaze swept over the remains of his room, they only home he had. He swallowed hard, and made a portal of light with his Keyblade, and then stepped through.

Utter devastation. The ground was ash with charred staves reaching like claws to scrape the sky. Shadow creatures roamed about, stirring up clouds of dust. A cry somewhere between a whimper and a sob squeaked through Ven's throat. This was all that was left of his world, his home. He remembered the fire being bad but… no one could have survived this. No one had survived this, except for him. He had hoped that some of the town's people had made it, and had started to rebuild. Maybe they would have remembered him and taken him in, and he could have helped out. But now… Ven prepared to make another portal.

"Thought you could escape, boy?" a gravelly voice cut through the silence. Ven whirled around, gripping his blade defensively.

"I'm not coming back with you!" he said firmly. Master Xehanort raised an eyebrow.

"You think you have a choice? Pupils should learn to obey their masters," he growled.

The last thing Ven remembered was searing pain, and then waking up back in his room.

**A/N – T_T Super depressing… I kinda wish I hadn't done this for the 100 theme challenge, just because I think I could have done better and gone into more detail without the time limit. It's still be fun to do, though, I guess. And I suppose I could always make a bigger one in a separate story sometime. I probably won't though. I hope you like this anyway!**


	28. Memory

Theme 84: Memory

"_Bright moon, full moon,  
Be a welcome light, to keep you safe through the night  
Kind stars, Shining stars,  
Guide you safely home.  
May the moon and the stars, Keep you safe where you are,  
And send you my love from afar.  
Bright moon, full moon,  
Be a welcoming light, to keep you safe through the night  
And soon you'll be safely home._

_Good night, Ven, sleep tight," his mother said, kissing his forehead after she finished the usual lullaby._

"_Good night, Mom. I love you," Ven whispered in the darkness, watching her silhouette in the light coming through his open door._

"_I love you too, Ven."_

A single tear arced down Ven's face as he tried to fall asleep. He couldn't get the memory of his mother's good nights out of his head. He rolled onto his side, his back to the night sky visible outside his window. He curled up into a ball and scrunched his eyes shut tight, but he didn't fall asleep.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
**A/N – I suck at writing lullabies…**


	29. Promise

Theme 46: Promise

Ven glared at his master while the wind tugged at their hair and clothes. They were back on the ridge. Ven had taken several days to heal from Master Xehanort's forceful capture, and his motions were still stiff and slow. But this was no excuse. He was healthy enough to swing his blade, and that was enough.

With a theatrical wave of his hands, Master Xehanort summoned more of the large shadows than ever before. They ringed Ventus as he stood on the broken ground. Ventus held his blade in a defensive pose, eyes wide with fright as he scanned the waiting shadows.

"Please don't do this, Master! I'm not strong enough!" he begged.

"No," Xehanort replied, drawing out the word. "It is because you are trying to hold it in. Let the dark impulses waken in the pit of your heart. Release them, here and now! Sharpen your fear into rage!" He ordered, gesturing with one hand. "You must! If you do not let the storm within you run its course, it will wipe you from the face of the world, make no mistake!" The shadows stalked closer, and Ven frantically swiveled his head, watching them. "Do it. Embrace the darkness. Produce for your master the χ-blade!"

A shadow jumped at Ven, and he cried out, falling to the ground. _Whatever that __χ__-blade is, it can't be anything good if this is the way to get it! I can't give in. I won't keep fighting anymore, not if that'll give Xehanort what he wants! _Ven thought as the shadows piled on top of him. He felt their claws digging into his flesh, and bit his lip to hold in any more cries. _I won't give into the darkness…_ he thought fuzzily as the world went black.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
**A/N – And now we're all caught up to the earliest bits of Ven's story that are in BBS. His early life is super depressing, especially when I write it. T_T I hope you somehow managed to enjoy my mini-story, even though it's uber sad and I cheated on at least three of the chapters. The next chapter will be back to the usual random characters and plot for themes. If you want me to do another mini-story within this challenge ask, and I'll see what I can do!**


	30. Magnet

**A/N – I'm so sorry I've been gone so long! I really have no excuse…. But in the next few days I promise I will catch up on the 37 (holy cow that many?) days I have missed! And, to start it all off, I'm doing a five-theme series on Isa and Lea! So here's part one! Please enjoy, my poor readers. I'm so sorry abandoned you so long! (and the authors who I usually review, I'm sorry to you guys too! I'll catch up there as well!)**

* * *

Theme 65 – Magnet

"Hey, Isa," Lea asked suddenly, thumbs thumping video game buttons like crazy, "You wanna go try to get in that castle again? You know, just for old time's sake?"

"Why on earth would I want to do that?" Isa asked shortly, gritting his teeth as Lea beat him yet again. Lea shrugged expressively, dropping the controller to the floor and flopping on his back.

"I don't know, maybe because we have nothing better to do?" the nineteen year old suggested, putting his hands behind his head and turning half-closed teal eyes on his best friend. Isa rolled his cold, golden orbs and flopped down next to him.

"So you're suggesting we risk our health a safety because of nostalgia and boredom?" He asked, voice dripping with disdain.

"Yup, that's what I'm suggesting!" Lea replied chipperly, not worried in the slightest. Everyone knew that castle was full of dangerous shadow creatures, and the even more dangerous leaders of Hollow Bastion. "What, don't you think we can take 'em?" he added, grinning at Isa. Isa couldn't help grinning back. He never could resist a challenge, not from Lea.

"Alright, alright, let's go, if only to get this silly nonsense out of your head," the blue-haired teen said, standing up. Lea jumped up as well. Grabbing their crude, childhood weapons, the two friends set off through the empty streets.

What once had been a beautiful metropolis full of flowers and people and fountains was now a barren wasteland full of broken stone. Hollow Bastion: it was a fitting name. The two friends walked calmly among the broken down houses and destroyed stone streets, avoiding the thoroughly demolished square where they used to wait, watching for their chance to sneak into Radiant Garden's castle. They'd been looking for treasure then, and they'd always gotten caught.

"My, how times have changed," Isa murmured quietly to himself, taking in the ruins of their home.

"No kidding," Lea agreed, equally quiet. The two friends slowly approached the castle, surprised to find it unguarded. They slipped inside.


	31. Power

Theme 20 – Power

The entryway was dark and silent, with mostly broken, unlit light fixtures over head and crumbled plaster on the floor. The walls had gaping holes filled with copper pipes which rattled and hissed menacingly. The two teens gripped their small weapons closer, creeping on tip-toe through the building.

Neither Isa nor Lea said anything as they stole silently down the hallway, listening for other human inhabitants, or worse. But they weren't attacked as they made their way through the main floor of the castle. In fact, the entire area seemed mostly uninhabited. The boys looked at each other, wondering why they had come.

Suddenly, there was a mechanical whirring sound. The boys looked up at the silver wires hanging in the hair. A platform was moving steadily along one of them, coming closer. They ducked behind a pillar that was holding up an overhang. Peering around the cold marble column, they waited for platform to pass. Instead, it paused in mid-air, and a few footsteps could be heard. Then, another platform that they had failed to notice began descending through the air. With baited breath, they watched it slowly fall, revealing the old man with lank yellow-white hair that was riding upon the contraptions. Muttering to himself, the old lab-coated man stepped off of the platform and walked away.

"C'mon!" Lea whispered excitedly, dashing forward towards the platform on the floor. Isa hesitated, but not to be outdone, followed Lea. The two rode the odd conveyances until they reached a doorway. The doorway led to a flight of stairs. Descending, they found a huge lab full of cages and odd containers, computer screens coated in data and all kinds of odd devices.

They did not enter unnoticed. A young boy, probably no more than thirteen, looked up from his work at them.

"You do not belong here," he said in an eerily calm, quiet voice. He drew a thin knife from his lab coat's inner pocket and stared out at them through his gray-blue bangs. "Intruders suffer severe punishment." With a flash, he leapt forward, slashing twice at Isa's face before either boy could get a guard up. Isa cried out in pain, a bright red "x" across his nose. Lea moved in front of his friend, feeling stupid, frightened, guilty, but mostly angry.

"Back off!" he shouted, blocking a swipe from the strange boy, and then lashing out with his other disk. Suddenly, the attack stopped.

A huge man with wavy red hair stood beside the boy.

"Ienzo," he rumbled, looking at the little child. "Weapons are not for one such as you. Go back to your studies. I will deal with these trespassers."

"Yes, sir," Ienzo replied with a slight bow, handing the knife reluctantly to the large man. He turned his back on the boys like they were never there. Lea and Isa stared up at the giant in front of them and swallowed hard.


	32. Laugh

**A/N – Be forewarned, this chapter is pretty dark and creepy. Scratch that, it's VERY dark and creepy.**

Theme 16 – Laugh

Isa was clutching at his ruined face, peering through his bloodied fingers up at the muscular man in front of them. Lea, nearly shaking with fear, looked from their intimidator to his friend and back. He needed to think of something, fast.

"Look, um, I think we get the message" Lea began, backing up slowly and trying to herd Isa with him, "and I promise that we'll never, ever come back here again. We won't even talk about what's here, ok, if you just let us go. We're really sorry we interrupted your very important work. We'll just be on our way so that you don't have to – " He stopped short as the lab-coated muscle man grabbed them both by the shoulders. He heard a strange gulping, yelping noise, and was startled to find that it came from his throat.

"Trespassers are not allowed to leave," the big man rumbled out. Without any apparent effort he dragged the writhing teenagers through the laboratory. They halted as they reached a long table with a strange contraption hovering over it. Lea gulped and Isa let out a small hiss when they saw the restraints covering the table.

"You idiot," Isa whispered sharply through the blood, "I can't believe I let you talk me into this!" For once, Lea was too stunned to speak.

The muscle covered goon picked Lea up first, throwing him onto the table with surprising ease. The world went fuzzy for a moment, until the restraints automatically clicked into place around his wrists, arms, ankles, thighs, waist, and neck. The hovering contraption started to move, and Lea found his voice again.

"What the hell is this thing?" he yelled, struggling fruitlessly as the arm panned out over his chest. The large lab-coat wearing man did not reply, he merely tightened his hold on Isa. The machine pulled up, and then thrust down with dizzying speed, penetrating skin and bone to enter Lea's chest. A terrible, gasping yell shattered the air as the machine did its ghastly work extracting Lea's heart. The boy dissolved in a burst of light, and the machine held a wriggling dark_, thing_.

"What is that?" Isa asked, staring at the horrible red and black creature wiggling above the table. His captor chuckled mirthlessly.

"That is what we study, boy," he said shortly, having the machine deposit the Heartless in a waiting cage while throwing Isa on the table.


	33. Cry

**A/N – I cheated on this one…. But then I didn't like what I'd wrote since my time limit was up and deleted it all… so did I cheat or not? Sorry the themes aren't very strong in these ones. The story got ahead of me…. I hope you like it anyway!**

Theme 47 – Cry

Lea woke up slowly, feeling like he was resurfacing from water. His mind, usual vividly bright and racing was cold and dark and detached. He should be afraid. He should be screaming. He should be dead. He was none of these things.

His eyes flickered open, taking in gentle green light, a mercy. Everything hurt, physically at least, but something within him felt dead and still and empty – or rather didn't feel at all. His brain told him that that emptiness hurt the most, but he wasn't sure that was true. This should have frightened him almost as much as the underground laboratory and the terrifying lab-coated workers, but even those no longer inspired fear in him. What was wrong with him?

He sat up slowly, unable to summon the panic or the energy to make the movement quick like it would have been yesterday. He was in a small woods, a place he'd never been before. He wasn't bound or anything, and there was no one near-by. His clothes weren't the same, though, and he knew he wasn't the same either. Because when he thought about what he had done to his best friend, there was no pain or shame or guilt or sorrow. Nothing. This didn't even scare him. He swiveled his head around, taking in the scene, trying to distract his calm, slow, abnormal trains of thought. Suddenly, there was a strange whooshing sound. In a flash of light, another figure appeared in the woods, sprawled out on his back.

"Isa," Lea – but not really Lea – said calmly. Calmly? He should be running over to see if his friend was dead or not. As it was, he stood up slowly -to keep the blood from rushing out of his head – and walked over to Isa. He, too, was wearing different clothes, and he looked a little different, older, or something like that. His hair was much longer, but still the same familiar ice blue. His eyes were closed, and in between them was the neat scar from that Ienzo kid's knife. As Lea-but-not-Lea reached him, his golden eyes fluttered open.

"Lea," he said simply, not angry or happy or afraid, "Where are we?" Lea shook his head. He should be crying, something told him, screaming delirious with joy and fear and shame. But he couldn't.


	34. Symbol

Theme 50 – Symbol

"We should find out where we are," Isa stated, looking past Lea. Lea nodded once. Together, the two wandered until they reached the edge of the woods. From here, they could see a small lawn, and then a huge wrought iron gate surrounded by a brick wall, and beyond that a tall mansion. Lea took one step forward when two figures appeared in front of the gate. One came through a black, seething orb. The other, appeared in a flash of light, like Isa had.

It was that kid, Ienzo, only much older. The other figure was cloaked completely in black leather, and his hood was over his face. Ienzo awoke, and the cloaked figure helped him to his feet.

"Do you feel stronger?" the cloaked figure asked in a voice neither boy – now hiding behind trees – recognized from their previous encounter. Ienzo nodded, but his face displayed no pleasure in this fact. Perhaps, like Isa and Lea, he couldn't feel satisfaction anymore.

"You will be called Zexion. Welcome to the Organization," the cloaked man said, handing the boy a cloak like his own. Zexion put it on, and then created a portal when instructed to. The two left together.

"They're the ones that did this to us," Isa said, looking pointedly at where the two figures stood. Lea nodded.

"Yep," he said shortly, waiting for Isa to get where he was going with this.

"They might have something to offer. And if not, we can at least have our revenge."

"You really want that?"

"Not in the same way I used to, but yes," Isa replied, hesitating only slightly. "Don't you?"

"Of course," Lea lied smoothly. He knew he was either for Isa or against him, as far as his friend thought. Considering it had been his idea to go into the castle at all…. Well he just really didn't want to get on Isa's bad side. "I'm just not used to the new us."

Isa bought it and nodded. Then, similar to how Zexion had, he stuck out his hand and made a portal. They walked through it, and entered the same laboratory as before.

Several cloaked men were gathered in a circle. They turned as one to face the newbies. Most had their hoods down, and Isa and Lea recognized their tormentor, now transformed as they were. But one figure had his hood up, and they could only see his long, thin smile.

"Welcome to the Organization," he said, picking up two cloaks and handing one to each of them. "What were your names?"

"Isa."

"Lea."

"Now you shall be known as number seven, Saix, and you shall be number eight, Axel."

**A/N – Well, that's it! I hope you liked it. (Even though it ended weird. My time was up and I didn't know what else to put anyway. You pretty much know what happened from there.) I was hoping Birth By Sleep would explain why they were friends and how they became Nobodies, but it didn't at all! So, this is my explanation/guess. I hope you enjoyed. Now, back to one-shots!**


	35. Beach

Theme 97 –Beach

"_We should all go to the beach!" _Roxas head Hayner's voice in his head as he and Sora and Kairi and Namine wandered around the beach. He and Sora and Riku had just gotten home today. He knew Sora was glad to be back as they padded through the sand, but his mind was elsewhere.

He knew this beach wasn't anything like the one he and Hayner, Pence, and Olette would have gone to. For one thing, it was real, not data. It was hard to accept that that friendship had been completely fake – a computer program.

This beach was also a lot bigger than the one they would have gone to. Roxas didn't have his fake memories from before that week as data, but he had seen a map with the beach on it. It was tiny, but still would have been fun. Anything with them would have been fun.

"Roxas?" Namine asked, turning towards him. Sora and Kairi weren't very aware of their nobodies, and probably couldn't see them most of the time, but Roxas and Namine could always see each other, super-imposed over their other's image. Roxas shook his head, as if clearing it, and then looked at Namine.

"Yeah?" he asked, still feeling far away.

"Who are you missing?" Namine replied, her tone soft and gentle as the waves nipping at their feet. Roxas looked away with a small sigh.

"Hayner, Pence, and Olette. We said we would all go to the beach… but we never got to."

Namine put a gentle hand on his arm. "We can always go back and visit."

"It's not the same."

"I'm sorry." She looked away, dropping her hand. Faking a smile, he turned to her and said,

"It's not your fault." Namine shook her head. Roxas took her hand, and stared out over the waves.

"Maybe we should just enjoy what we've got, right now."

"Okay."

**A/N – I didn't mean to make that so sappy! Sorry!**


	36. Reflection

Theme 4 – Reflection

Out of all of the Organization members, Marluxia had to be Zexion's least favorite. Marluxia also had to be the easiest member to prank, except for Roxas (who didn't get it and thus was no fun) or Demyx (who was so easy it was pathetic.)

If Zexion had had a heart, he would have said he loved to prank Marluxia. As it was, he merely knew so strongly that this would have been fun, that he kept at it. It was as close to feeling as he ever got.

And today, oh yes today, he was going to pull his best prank ever.

It started in the morning. While most of the organization members didn't fuss much with their hair, (Axel and Roxas's just being a bizarre case of really bad bed-head) Marluxia had a tedious morning routine to get his pink locks in their "perfect" position. So Zexion contrived to get up as early as possible, and then snuck into Marluxia's room. Thankfully, then frivolous nobody was still asleep. Zexion hid himself and waited.

Finally, Marly awoke, and stumbled to the bathroom. He emerged, looking slightly more awake, and walked over to the massive vanity on the opposite side of his room. Settling on a pink and white little stool, he blinked at his reflection in the mirror. Gray-purple strands of thin, short hair hung from his head, his eyes were blood-shot and his face was covered in zits, boils, and scars. Marluxia put shaking hands toward his face, and then saw that his hands were wrinkled with more scars and wounds, and his fingernails were long, cracked, yellow, and covered with peeling black nailpolish. Marluxia screamed, running into the bathroom to throw up.

Zexion smiled to himself, and fixed the illusion in place around Marluxia, so he would see that horrible vision in the mirror for the rest of the day.

As Zexion left the room, he couldn't help thinking that the girly number eleven looked so much better that way.


	37. White Lie

Theme 49 – White Lie

"Riku, do you know what Kairi got me for Chirstmas?" Sora, hanging up-side-down from a palm tree, pestered his best friend. Riku rolled his eyes.

"For the thousandth time Sora, no."

"If you did you would tell me, right?" Sora asked. Riku gave him a gentle shove, swinging him a little bit.

"Why should I? Christmas gifts are supposed to be a surprise."

"But you're my best friend. You're supposed to tell me these things so I can make sure I get Kairi and even better present than whatever she gets me!" Sora protested. Riku couldn't help but roll his eyes again.

"You know what, Sora? You're right. Kairi got you mistletoe for Christmas."


	38. Haunted

Theme 14 – Haunted

"Hello?" The frightened girl called down the long, white hallway. She was hiding behind a tall, white column and feeling very frightened and exposed. She thought she'd heard a noise, but she couldn't see or hear anyone now. She'd lived in this castle for as long as she remembered, and there had never been anyone here before.

"Hello?" she called again, trying to decide if it was safe to run back to her room.

"Um, hi," a voice replied behind her. The girl jumped, whirling around to face… well, she wasn't sure what it was.

It was a boy, as far as she could tell, with spiked blonde hair and an odd assortment of armor and clothes. There was a silver symbol on black straps in the center of his chest, and his eyes were closed. That wasn't the weird thing though. He was completely transparent, barely there at all. In fact, Namine could only see him if she turned her head the right way.

"I'm Ven," the boy said, his eyes still closed. Namine pressed her back against the column, too afraid to answer. "Who are you? Don't be scared, I'm a friend."

"I- I'm-m, I'm Namine," she stuttered out, still frightened. "Why are you here?"

"I've heard you wandering around and I wanted to know who you were. You seemed nice, but no one's supposed to be able to get in here."

"I've never been anywhere but here."

"Really?" Ven asked, tipping his head to the side.

"Yes."

"Wow. Well… would you like to take a walk?"

"Um, sure…"

But Namine noticed that as they traveled closer to the top levels of the castle, Ven grew fainter, until he almost disappeared.

"I guess I can't travel too far from my body. You'll have to come find me if you want to talk."

"Ok. It was nice to meet you, Ven."

"Nice to meet you too, Namine. Don't be a stranger."

"I won't!"

* * *

**A/N – I got this idea from Fantasy0Girl and just loved it. I don't think I've used it before in this challenge, but if I have, sorry! Anyway, I wanted to do this for this one because Haunted is a rather creepy theme and after Isa and Lea's story and Beach I've tried to keep it a little more up-beat. **


	39. Pure

Theme 5 – Pure

"Mickey!" Minnie cried as the King, Donald, and Goofy finally returned from their nearly two-year journey. She ran out onto the platform to hug him, queenly repose completely forgotten in rapturous joy.

"Minnie! Gee, it's good to see ya again," Mickey said, hugging his beloved wife back. In the background, Daisy was berating Donald for being gone so long again.

Goofy looked at the two couples, and smiled.

"Either way, that's pure love for ya!"


	40. Rose

Theme 37 – Rose

The strange hooded man had become obsessed with the rose. Now, whenever he came to visit the Beast, it was all he would discuss. It had gotten so bad that the rose was all Beast could think about, too. When Sora and the others came, he barely noticed his old friend, he was so preoccupied.

And now that hooded man had stolen not only the rose, but Belle as well. Belle could always clear the fog of anger and doubt from Beast's head. Even when she made him even angrier, he still felt somehow drawn to her.

How could he chose between the girl and the rose?


	41. Pieces

Theme 12 – Pieces

"Guys, come do this puzzle with me!" Kairi called, waving the two boys over. It was an unusually dreary day in Destiny Islands, raining like mad. Everything seemed wet and gray, especially to Sora and Riku. They had been morosely staring out the window, with Kairi trying in vain to distract them. Sora turned his head to look at the puzzle she was holding up – 500 pieces, and the picture was some old art work. Riku didn't even move.

"No thanks," Sora told her, turning back to the window. Kairi huffed, settling her hands on her ten-year-old hips.

"You guys are no fun! Now come do this puzzle with me! Please, Sora?" she wheedled. Sora sighed, and hopped down from the window.

"Fine, if you're gonna whine about it," he said.

"Thank you!" Kairi cried, hugging him. "Riku?"

"No."

"Fine then, be that way. Sora and I are going to have fun!" She grabbed Sora's hand and the puzzle and stomped off, fuming. Sora stumbled along behind, completely confused as to why she was mad at Riku.

Kairi opened the box and dumped the puzzle out on the floor in a huge pile of pieces. Sora sighed resignedly, then settled down on the floor across from her and started working on the puzzle. But all the pieces looked the same.


	42. Shooting Star

Theme 72 – Shooting Star

The week after Ventus came, there was a meteor shower. Though he still seemed a little lost, he was settling in ok, and Aqua and I were determined to make him comfortable. When Master Eraqus told us about the shooting stars, we decided it would be perfect.

"Where are we going?" Ven asked. Aqua smiled.

"It's a surprise!" she said. We had blindfolded Ven and were leading him down the paths to the best place to watch. When we got there, Aqua untied the blindfold.

"Ta-da!" she said with a wave of her arm.

"O-k?" Ven replied, looking around confused. We were just at an ordinary corner of the complex, with the typical lanterns and everything.

"Lay down, and watch the sky," I told him, turning off the two closest lanterns. Ven did as we asked, and Aqua settled down on one side of him. I chose the other.

We didn't have to wait long. Soon, the whole sky was filled with millions of shooting stars, whooshing about in great silver arcs. It was beautiful.

"Wow! What are those things?" Ven asked, entranced. I smiled.

"Shooting stars," I told him. "It's a meteor shower."

It sort of became a tradition with us.


	43. Future

Theme 60 – Future

"What do you want to do when you grow up?" It was a question they'd all been asked a thousand times.

When Sora was six, he wanted to be fireman. Riku had wanted to be a doctor, which made Kairi say she wanted to be a nurse. Sora couldn't stand that.

At ten, Kairi wanted to be a teacher. Riku wasn't sure what he wanted anymore. There weren't that many jobs on the Islands. Sora wanted to be an explorer. Riku pointed out there was no where new to explore. Sora stuck out his tongue and said "What about the bottom of the ocean? No one's explored there yet!"

Now, they were fifteen and sixteen, and Riku wondered what exactly they could be. Certainly nothing normal, like they'd planned when they were little. They were already two years behind in school, and it just didn't seem that important anymore. What was the history of their small place, when they knew the history of plenty of worlds – and didn't know about hundreds of others?

Sora, specifically, might already have his job for life. The worlds would always need protection, and once he was too old to provide it, he'd have to choose and train someone to protect them after him. Riku and Kairi would help, of course, but this was somehow strictly Sora's destiny. Sora wasn't sure he liked it, but he had come to accept it, mostly. Kairi worried about how often he'd be home.

Riku thought Kairi could try for a normal life, but he was sure it would never suit her. She was kind and gentle and pure, and completely in love with Sora. Somehow, they would have to work it out.

All together, the three of them were completely unsure about the future, what they would do with it and where they would end up. But they were mostly excited, and right now, it was good enough just to be home together.


	44. Victory

Theme 99 – Victory

"Comeoncomeoncomeon!" Axel grumbled under his breath, leaning forward intently. His mind was racing at a million miles an hour as he struggled to complete his goal.

Beside him, Roxas's face was a mask of concentration, his tongue sticking out the side of his mouth. His thumbs moved feverishly as he tried to thrash Axel at their favorite game – 350 SpeedRacing.

They whipped around a turn, nearly side-swiping each other.

"You drive like Marluxia!" Axel taunted, passing Roxas by a nose. Roxas slammed his car into Axel's.

"Oh yeah? Well you drive like Demyx!"

"Oh-ho, so that's how it's gonna be, huh? Well, prepare yourself for the beating of a lifetime!"

"Yeah right!" Roxas retorted, running into Axel again. He activated his turbo and shot ahead. Axel nearly growled and kept barreling forward down the track. Eventually, Roxas's turbo ran out. The change in speed messed up his steering and he turned too quickly, running though a sandbank. Axel's car whipped past him.

"Ha ha! See you at the finish line!" Axel quipped, grinning. Roxas swiped at his head, and then steered his car out of the sand and back onto the track. Speeding up, he nearly caught Axel just before he crossed the finish line!

"Woo-hoo! Eat that, Roxas!" Axel exalted, fists in the hair.

"I call a rematch!"


End file.
